How to Read “Like filling a deep pool with salt”
Shio nite fuchi wo uzumu gotoshi
Meaning of “Like filling a deep pool with salt”
“Like filling a deep pool with salt” is a proverb that describes the recklessness of trying to solve a huge problem with minimal effort.
The image of attempting to fill a deep, wide pool with tiny grains of salt shows a situation where the scale of the problem and the effort being put in are completely mismatched.
This proverb emphasizes not just the amount of effort, but the inappropriateness of the method itself.
Salt dissolves in water, so no matter how much you pour in, you can never fill the pool. This expression is used when the fundamental approach to solving a problem is wrong.
In modern times, this applies to situations like allocating insufficient budget or staff to large-scale projects.
It also describes addressing structural problems with only superficial measures. The proverb warns against efforts that don’t reach the essence of the problem, even when people are trying hard.
Origin and Etymology
The exact source of this proverb is unclear, but we can make interesting observations from how the words are structured.
The essence of this proverb appears in the combination of two contrasting elements: “salt” and “deep pool.”
Salt has always been a precious resource, but it has the characteristics of being small and light in grain form.
A deep pool, on the other hand, refers to a vast body of water. Connecting these two creates a visual image of overwhelming disproportion in scale.
The property that salt dissolves when placed in water strengthens the meaning of this proverb even more.
Even if you try to fill a pool with solid salt, it dissolves the moment it touches water and has no effect.
This expresses a double recklessness: not just a problem of quantity, but that the method itself is fundamentally wrong.
Throughout Japanese history, many expressions have been created to warn against the foolishness of facing big problems with inappropriate means.
It shares a similar concept with sayings like “water on a hot stone,” but “Like filling a deep pool with salt” uses the specific properties of materials to emphasize the degree of recklessness even more.
It’s believed to be a heartfelt expression born from the practical wisdom of common people.
Usage Examples
- Cutting expenses by a few thousand yen a month to reduce the deficit is like filling a deep pool with salt
- Assigning just one new employee to an understaffed department is like filling a deep pool with salt—nothing will change
Universal Wisdom
Behind why “Like filling a deep pool with salt” has been passed down through generations lies insight into a deeply rooted human tendency.
When faced with big problems, people avoid fundamental solutions and escape into easy, small fixes.
Why do people behave this way? Confronting large problems head-on requires enormous effort, time, and courage.
In comparison, small fixes give us the comfort of “doing something.” Even if they’re ineffective, we can feel good about taking action.
What’s more serious is the lack of ability to identify the essence of problems.
Without measuring the depth of the pool or considering the properties of salt, people just try to make do with whatever materials they have at hand.
This mental shutdown may be what our ancestors most wanted to warn us about.
This proverb hides another truth. It’s the importance of wisdom in distinguishing the boundary between reckless challenges and appropriate effort.
Taking on challenges is itself a virtue, but if the method is fundamentally wrong, it becomes recklessness rather than courage.
Humans have struggled with this distinction across all eras. Correctly recognizing the scale of a problem and choosing appropriate means—this seemingly obvious but difficult judgment is true wisdom.
When AI Hears This
When you look at throwing salt into a pool from a physics perspective, you see a surprisingly clear structure of defeat.
Salt crystals are collections of regularly arranged molecules in a low-information state. In other words, they’re “orderly.”
On the other hand, salt dissolved in water has molecules scattered randomly, with enormous information content. This is entropy increase, or disorder.
What’s important here is that this change is completely one-way.
When you put salt in water, it always dissolves and spreads, but dissolved salt never naturally returns to crystal form.
The second law of thermodynamics declares that “in a closed system, entropy always increases.” In other words, someone trying to fill a pool with salt is directly opposing a fundamental rule of the universe.
What’s even more interesting is that increasing the amount of salt doesn’t change the situation.
Even if you dissolve salt to saturation point, the pool’s volume only decreases by the volume of the salt crystals.
Seawater has a salt concentration of about 3.5 percent, but that’s by weight, not volume, which is even smaller.
Calculations show you’d need several tons of salt to fill a 100-liter pool. Moreover, dissolved saltwater occupies a much larger volume than crystals, so the pool essentially never fills.
This phenomenon shows the limits of human effort. No matter how much energy you pour in, you cannot move in a direction that opposes natural laws.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches you today is the courage to pause before confronting a problem.
In an age where taking immediate action is considered a virtue, action in the wrong direction can produce worse results than doing nothing.
First, what’s important is measuring the true size of the problem.
Don’t judge by surface appearances alone. Calmly assess the depth and scope. Then question whether the resources and methods you have are truly effective for that problem.
If you realize the scale doesn’t match, don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.
Rather than carrying everything alone and repeating small fixes, seeking appropriate support and cooperation to aim for fundamental solutions is far wiser.
Also, this proverb teaches “the strength to acknowledge what you cannot do.”
Rather than clinging to something you know is impossible, have the flexibility to search for different approaches.
Your effort is precious. That’s exactly why you should invest it where it will truly be effective.
See through to the essence of problems and choose appropriate methods. That wisdom is what will guide you to real solutions.
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